


kiss me on the mouth and set me free ( but please don't bite )

by TheWeepingMonk



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, One Shot, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21986026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeepingMonk/pseuds/TheWeepingMonk
Summary: Coop turns to Nick and asks, “Truth or Dare, Clark?”“Dare.”Coop grins and Nick knows instantly that he's made a mistake. “I dare you to kiss Troy.”
Relationships: Nick Clark/Troy Otto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 109





	kiss me on the mouth and set me free ( but please don't bite )

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an old idea I decided to publish, and I hope y'all like it!

Nick settles comfortably next to the fire Coop made. Around him sits other members of the militia, their fearless leader sitting on the tailgate of his truck a few yards away. 

Troy was in a sour mood because Jake had sent him to make this outpost viable again with explicit instructions to live there twenty-four seven afterwards. 

Nick understood why. Troy had almost shot up the ranch, but Nick had stopped him by telling him that _he_ killed Jeremiah and if Troy wanted to take that out on someone it should be him.

But for some reason he hadn’t. He'd surrendered. 

Still, Walker wasn’t comfortable with Troy’s presence and Jake was bending over backwards to appease him, hence Troy getting banished from the ranch itself. 

Coop hands him a bowl of stew and Nick takes it gratefully. Everyone’s quiet, Troy’s bad mood affecting everyone until one of the newer recruits – Thompson – suggests they play truth or dare to pass the time. The atmosphere lightens the longer they go on, a bottle of whiskey appearing at some point, and Nick actually starts to have fun as he listens to some embarrassing truths and witnesses stupid dares. 

He himself has to talk about being a junkie, streak two laps around the campfire, and take a shot off of Darla – the only remaining female in the militia. It feels nice to have fun, but he can’t help looking to Troy – who was just watching them from a distance – and wish he'd join in. 

On his fourth turn he picks truth, and Eames – a new recruit – asks, “Do you think Troy’s hot?”

Nick notices the way the others look between each other, like they’re eager to hear his answer. He'd expected disgust given their upbringing, but he finds none.

Nick shrugs. “Yeah.” 

Eames smiles, and exchanges a look with Darla and Coop. He doesn’t know what their deal is, but he doesn’t trust it. 

Nick dares Darla to kiss the most attractive man there, and she surprises Coop with a firm kiss on the lips. After the catcalls and playful protests, Darla sits and Coop takes a shot to avoid answering what he really thinks of Troy.

Coop turns to Nick and asks, “Truth or Dare, Clark?”

“Dare.”

Coop grins and Nick knows instantly that he's made a mistake. “I dare you to kiss Troy.”

Nick’s heart stops. “What?”

“I dare you to walk over there and kiss Troy right on the mouth.” 

“Are you trying to get me killed?” Nick questions. 

“Scared, Clark?” Eames teases. 

“I’m not scared of Troy.” Except maybe just a little after recent events.

“Prove it,” Darla says. 

Nick looks between everyone. He takes a swig of whiskey, then stands up and heads over to Troy. 

Troy watches him approach, but doesn’t speak. He hasn’t spoken much since he found out the truth about what Nick did. 

_This is a bad idea_ , Nick thinks. He stops right in front of Troy, grabs his face, and kisses him clumsily on the mouth. 

Troy doesn’t respond to it and Nick pulls away quickly, but Troy fists the front of his shirt before he can get too far and says, lowly, “I’m not kissing you for anyone's amusement but my own,” then tosses Nick into the dirt. 

Nick blinks up at him, not sure what to make of that. 

“Go back to your game, Clark,” Troy tells him, laying back in the truck bed to stare up at the stars. 

Nick gets to his feet and swiftly returns to his place next to Eames. 

“Surprised he let you come back alive,” Thompson comments. 

“Come on, we all know he’s got a soft spot for Clark,” Darla says. 

Nick rolls his eyes, especially as they tease him about being Troy’s wife, but he can’t help but wonder if there was more truth to it than any of them realized. It would certainly put Troy's odd words into perspective.

Four rounds, and a dare kiss from Eames, later the militia start to trickle into the outpost one by one until it’s just him and Troy left outside. He drinks the last bit of whiskey, then goes to lay in the truck bed next to Troy who barely spares him a glance. 

They don’t speak for a long while, enjoying the smattering of stars above, and the cold desert air, but eventually Nick asks, “Do you hate me?” and he would cringe at the question if he didn’t desperately need the answer. 

“Why would I? You saved me…in your own way so…”

“So?” Nick questions, turning his head towards Troy. 

Troy keeps his eyes on the stars. “I owe you.”

“Then why have you been avoiding me?”

“I haven’t.”

Nick scoffs. “ _Bullshit_. You’ve hardly said two words to me since that night.”

“Maybe I just haven’t had anything to say.” Troy says casually. 

Nick snorts. “I told you I killed your dad, and you didn’t have anything to say to me?”

“Well maybe I have _too_ _much_ I want to say...Isn’t that how it usually works? A person can spew all kinds of bullshit endlessly, but the moment they have something real to say they can’t find the words?"

Nick furrows his brow. “And what's so real that its kept _you_ , King of the bullshit, from talking to me?"

Troy huffs in amusement. “ _Thank you,_ for starters.”

Nick's mouth falls open in shock. Of all the things he'd imagined Troy saying to him, that had been the last thing he'd expected. He knew Jeremiah wasn't a good man or father, but he had seen how _devasted_ Troy looked when he collected his body. 

“I’ve been so tired of that old bastard's rules for years now and when you told me you killed him I finally felt…I finally felt _free_. All that pain and anger I'd felt when I thought he took the coward's way out – just...poof! Gone." At that last part he raises his hand above them, closing and opening his fist for emphasis before letting it drop down to his side. 

“But you weren’t angry at _me?_ ” Nick questions, watching the other man closely. 

“I was angry that you did what I couldn’t, but I was... _grateful_ that you did it. I didn’t even care that it wasn’t _for_ me because you could’ve let me die in that damned house when I tried to take back the ranch, but instead you saved me in the only way you knew how. You care if I live and that means the world to me, Nicky.” Troy looks to him then, and his gaze is almost too intense to meet. 

"Does that mean you forgive me?"

Troy nods slowly. "I forgave you as soon as you told me. It took me some time to realize _why_ I did, but I know now."

Nick feels a buzzing heat under skin that definitely wasn't the whiskey. "Know what?"

Troy's gaze flicks to his mouth pointedly. "What do you think?"

Nick licks his lips, wishing Troy would just kiss him already. He feels his heart start to beat just a bit faster as he says, “I think...that there's no one here to amuse but you." 

Troy slowly breaks into a grin, turning on his side and reaching for Nick's face, calloused fingers gently pulling Nick by his chin into a soft kiss. Nick's eyes flutter closed, and he turns on his side to improve their angle. It's a much nicer kiss than earlier, slow and firm, easy to melt into. He never wants it to stop. 

Nick puts his hand on his Troy’s waist, pulling him closer. 

Troy pulls away after a moment, his nose gently bumping into Nick's as he rests their foreheads together. “There’s one more thing I have to say."

“What?”

“I want you to be mine.” Troy tells him, stroking his chin almost possessively with his thumb. " _Only_ mine."

Nick presses his forehead into Troy's. “Okay,” he says because Troy had been his since the night of the boar hunt. His to hate, his to protect, his to destroy, his to shape, his to embrace – his to _love_ if he wanted. It was only fair he returned the sentiment. 

Troy kisses him again, pressing Nick onto his back, and crawling on top of him – a warm shield against the wind. He kisses Nick until their lips are red and swollen and then they head into the outpost to curl up for the night in Troy's bed, Nick promising to stay after everyone else leaves.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/Kudos appreciated!!


End file.
